1. Field of the Invention
The subject matter described in this application relates generally to the field of nanotechnology and, in particular, to porous, nanoporous, and mesoporous objects, such as particles, and methods for fractionation, stabilization, and storage of biomolecules.
2. Background of the Invention
A promising strategy of early disease diagnosis is the detection of molecular biomarkers from readily available body fluids, such as blood. Considerable attention has been devoted to the development of proteomic methods for the quantitative and simultaneous detection and identification of molecular biomarkers constituted by multiple proteins and peptides using Mass Spectrometry (MS). Several strategies of sample treatment prior to MS analysis have been developed including conventional 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, pre-fractionation processes, depletion of most abundant proteins, and beads equalization. In spite of these advances, less effort has been made to overcome the problems of denaturation and degradation of samples during long sample handling procedures, maintenance of protein stability during sample processing, and stabilization of samples during long-term storage. Furthermore, the detection of low abundant markers and low molecular weight (LMW) species remains a critical challenge due to experimental variability, limited reproducibility, long sample handling procedures, protein stability during sample processing, and generation of misleading artifacts as a consequence of unreliable experimental procedures. Macrostructure materials have been used to address some of these issues, and continue to be potentially useful in many applications.